European climate policy has once again proved vulnerable to political pressure from governments and industry lobbyists. As a result, the rules on methane and greenhouse gas emissions from the automotive industry have been watered down.
EcoPolitic explains the reasons behind this change of course.
Methane deferral
Heated political debates are continuing over the methane monitoring rules, which were due to come into force on 1 January 2027. Under pressure from a number of governments, notably those of France and the United States, the European Commission appears to be prepared to make concessions.
According to reports by Reuters, the European Commission plans to postpone the implementation of the EU’s flagship legislation on reducing methane emissions. This was announced by a Commission spokesperson on Monday, 28 September.
"The Commission plans to propose postponing the entry into force of the methane regulation," said a spokesperson for the European Commission.
The exact duration of the deferral has not been officially specified. However, in an interview with Bloomberg News on 25 September, the EU Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, stated that Brussels was considering the possibility of a one-year deferral.
Against the backdrop of this setback, the International Energy Agency may consider releasing Europe’s strategic oil reserves.
EcoPolitic reported that pressure on the EU regarding methane regulations has been ongoing since at least the spring. The trade agreement with the US and the removal of barriers to the purchase of American fuel have played a significant role in this.
From 2027, the EU was due to start imposing fines on importers for failing to comply with requirements regarding the monitoring and abatement of methane emissions.
The motoring lobby
Back in 2023, the EU effectively banned cars with internal combustion engines, setting itself the target of reducing emissions from new vehicles to zero by 2035. However, the EU authorities were unable to withstand the pressure from the automotive industry.
The ban was due to be reviewed in 2026, but lobbying by the automotive industry accelerated the process. As a result, a certain percentage of fossil-fuel-powered cars were retained as early as 2025. At the time, car manufacturers claimed that sales of electric cars had already come to a halt in 2024.
However, Politico has learnt from internal documents that the European Commission adopted this decision against the advice of its own Directorate-General for Climate Action. The Directorate-General insisted that, despite statements by lobbyists, it was still too early to describe the 2035 target as unachievable. At the same time, the Directorate-General’s conclusion included a caveat that a change in policy would send a negative signal to companies that have invested billions in increasing the production of electric vehicles.
"It is extremely important for our future industrial competitiveness to continue to provide certainty for the market and investors," the document stated.
The European Commission declined to comment on this internal discord.
At the same time, car manufacturers and politicians continue to press for a further relaxation of the rules. In particular, the European People’s Party wants to lower the emissions reduction target to as much as 75 per cent.
Despite the arguments put forward by the automotive industry, the share of electric vehicles in the EU is steadily increasing. In 2025, the number of new electric car registrations increased by 30 per cent. And in 2026, in the first four months alone, Europeans purchased 750,000 electric cars.
Sales of electric vehicles are rising across the globe due to the fuel crisis caused by the war in the Middle East. In 50 countries, sales set new records in the second quarter of 2026.
